Wednesday, December 14, 2011

What was he thinking? Mayor Jorge Santini and his family smile placidly for this Christmas card as a leopard mauls a gazelle

A festive riddle: What does a leopard brutally mauling a gazelle have in common with a turkey swooping over a black blear and a little lost penguin waddling over the ice?Christmas, of course! All three scenes, played out with stuffed animals, were the backdrops for a series of inexplicably bizarre official Christmas cards from Jorge Santini, the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The mayor says he chose the scenes as a way to promote the San Juan Wildlife Museum and the realistic natural history displays it offers.But some political rivals say the Christmas cards are veiled, if awkward, threats about the upcoming election next year, the Huffington Post reported.

Promotion or threat? The mayor says the cards are simply a way to promote the San Juan Wildlife Museum. Political opponents say they are veiled threats

In the three cards, the mayor, his wife and three children placidly grin for the camera, seemingly oblivious of the frozen wild animals around them. The most incongruous of the three cards is one that features a leaping leopard grabbing a helpless gazelle by the throat. Mayor Santini's 7-year-old daughter smiles coyly at the edge of the photo.

Election upcoming: Mayor Santini, who has led Puerto Rico's largest city since 2001, faces the voters in an election next year

'May your dream be illuminated this Christmas,' says the card - a rough English translation according to Huffington Post. Mayor Santini, 51, has served as mayor of San Juan City - the capital of Puerto Rico - since 2001. San Juan, with a population of nearly 400,000, is also the island's largest city. Puerto Rico is a primarily Spanish-speaking territory of the United States located about 1,000 miles from the southern tip of Florida in the Caribbean Sea.